Derry woman gets probation, house arrest for 2016 wreck that killed motorcyclist

A Derry Township woman will serve five years on probation for causing the death of a motorcyclist more than two years ago.

Bailey Campbell, 26, pleaded guilty this year to vehicular homicide in connection with the April 26, 2016, fatal crash at the intersection of state Route 982 and Highview Street in Derry Township.

Chad Gates, 29, of Derry, was killed when Campbell’s Jeep Cherokee crossed into oncoming traffic and struck his motorcycle, police said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani imposed terms of a plea deal in which prosecutors dismissed a charge of reckless endangerment and four summary traffic violations. Campbell’s probation term requires that she spend 18 months on house arrest. Her driver’s license will be suspended for three years.

Prosecutors said the weather was clear and dry around 2 p.m. — the time of the crash — and offered no explanation for why Campbell’s vehicle left her side of the road.

“What caused it, I still don’t know the circumstances,” Feliciani said. “This is a tragedy all the way around.”

Campbell declined to make any statements before being sentenced.

Gates’ family did not attend the hearing.

Before Campbell pleaded guilty in June, Brittany Gates wrote a letter to the judge which discussed her husband’s death and its impact on their two 3-year-old daughters.

“At such a young age this should have been the beginning of the best years of our lives. We were just starting our family and raising our babies. We hardly got started on our journey,” Brittany Gates wrote. “I will be mourning the loss of my husband, mourning for my innocent children and mourning the loss of the life we should have had.”

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.